Tom HIggings graduated from North Carolina A&M in 1976, and was not drafted by the NFL. Higgins came to Canada and joined the Stampeders in 1976, playing 10 games that season at linebacker for the Stamps. Higgins did not play in 1977 and 1978 (injured?), but played in 1979 with the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. Higgins returned to Canada in 1980 to play 7 games with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
After retiring as a player, Higgins went into coaching. HIggins started his coaching career with the University of Calgary and led them to a CIS title. In 1985, Higgins joined the Stampeders as an assistant coach. Higgins got his first chance to be a head coach in the CFL with the arch rival Edmonton Eskimos in 2001, a gig that lasted for four years until the end of 2004. In 2005, Higgins returned to the Stampeders as their head coach, and held that post for three seasons (2005-2007).
In 2008, Higgins took up a new job with the CFL as the league's director of officiating. Higgins held that position until he resigned in December of 2013. In February, 2014, Higgins returned to the CFL coaching ranks as the head coach for the Montreal Alouettes Higgins replaced Jim Popp who had held the dual roles of GM and Head Coach after the release of Dan Hawkins early in the 2013 season.
Wikipedia article on Tom Higgins
Higgins Names Alouettes Head Coach
Higgins HIred Against GM Popp's Wishes
| Year | Team | GP | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | OFR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | CAL | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | SASK | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
No official tackle stats were kept in the CFL until 1987.
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